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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24240943">Homosexuality and Homosociality in Queer Cinema</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ama/pseuds/ama'>ama</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Community (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst with a Happy Ending, Coming Out, Dry Humping, First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, LGBTQ Character of Color, LGBTQ Themes, M/M, Making Out</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 20:08:08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>8,945</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24240943</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ama/pseuds/ama</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“Hey Abed?”<br/>“Yeah, Troy?”<br/>“When you were breaking up with Britta for me… did you tell her I was gay?”</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Troy Barnes/Abed Nadir</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>59</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>860</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>trobed :)</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Homosexuality and Homosociality in Queer Cinema</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Gonna play a new game with Trobed fics called "guess which Childish Gambino song I listened to the most while writing this?"</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Almost a week has passed since Troy and Britta broke up when he appears at the curtained door of the blanket fort. It’s late, but Abed knows he’s there immediately because there’s a shadow breaking the light from the street lamps that filters into the living room.</p><p>“Abed?” Troy asks quietly. “Do you mind if I sleep in here tonight?”</p><p>The answer to a question like that is always yes, because what it really means is “I’m going to move the plot along by making some emotional confessions and maybe revealing an angsty backstory.” Abed is sleepy but he yawns and thinks of exciting things like improbable car explosions to wake himself up.</p><p>“Sure. I haven’t washed the sheets on the bottom bunk, though.”</p><p>“You slept down here?”</p><p>“Once.”</p><p>He had been getting ready for bed when he heard the apartment door open. He almost went out to say hi to Troy, until he heard whispering and giggling and kissing sounds, so instead he had sat down on the bottom bunk to wait until Britta left. She never did—he fell asleep waiting.</p><p>Apparently Troy doesn’t mind, though, because he climbs into bed without a word. There are the still-familiar sounds of shuffling and pillow-punching as he gets comfortable. A few minutes pass and Abed starts to wonder if maybe Troy really just wants to sleep. He closes his eyes.</p><p>“Hey Abed?”</p><p>“Yeah, Troy?”</p><p>“When you were breaking up with Britta for me… what did you say?”</p><p>“Well, my interpretation of your character, in particular your initiation of the body-switching bit, led me to believe that you weren’t sure why you wanted to break up with her and were relying on my skills of interpretation to provide a reason, so when I was pretending to be you in my body, I was similarly indecisive.” He pauses, in case Troy wants to comment on how meta that was, but Troy is silent. “I told her that the relationship felt like it was taking more work than it should, like you were just going through the motions, and that you thought maybe you should break up but that you were worried it would affect your friendship. That’s about as far as we had gotten when you arrived.”</p><p>“So… you didn’t tell her I was gay?”</p><p>Abed opens his eyes.</p><p>“No,” he says. “It would be out of character for you to use that as an excuse unless it were true.”</p><p>“And you don’t think it’s true?”</p><p>He rolls onto his side. He really, really wants to climb down the ladder and talk to Troy face-to-face, because he’s not great with faces but he’s gotten used to Troy’s and at least that would give him more than this blank, careful voice. He doesn’t, though, because he thinks there’s a reason Troy has been dragging his feet on this. Days have passed since that lunch at Senor Kevin’s, and Troy hasn’t asked until now. It’s unusual for him to spend this much time dwelling on something.</p><p>“My simulations are based on observation and the logical conclusions that can be drawn from observation,” Abed says calmly. “On many occasions I’ve observed you express sexual interest in women, and I’m aware that you and Britta had an active sex life. I haven’t observed much evidence for interest in men aside from Clive Owen, so you being gay isn’t something that factored in to my interpretation of your character. But my conclusions could be wrong if my observations were incomplete.”</p><p>“What if… what if your observations were right, though? Like, if there was nothing… if a character didn’t actual <em> do </em> anything different, could you still be wrong?”</p><p>Abed is starting to understand why people get annoyed with him for going meta.</p><p>“Sure,” he says. “I’m not psychic, Troy. I can’t predict the future and I can’t read people’s minds. If there’s an internal motivation or conflict that I’m not aware of, I could be wrong.”</p><p>“But it would still have to make sense. People don’t just become totally different people overnight, so there must have been some hints beforehand, or else it can’t be true.”</p><p>“I guess.” Abed shifts. “I don’t know. You know I’m not good at that kind of thing.”</p><p>“My point is, like, would it even make sense, though? For someone who’s never even kissed a guy to suddenly be gay after being with plenty of girls, it’s like—really? How would that work unless he was never interested in girls at all? Like he was able to look at them and see they were cool and pretty but he never wanted to have sex with them unless it was their idea or unless he started worrying about what people would think about him, and it’s not like he ever had a <em> problem </em>with it, it’s just that he would keep waiting for that—that feeling of being close to someone that everyone talked about and it never happened, and he would always lose interest in any girl he dated and he doesn’t even know why and he feels terrible because maybe he’s been leading them on this whole time. And it’s not like he’s ever been with guys, either, because every time he thinks about it he freezes up, like his brain just won’t go there, so how can he know for sure? He can’t. That’s crazy. Right? That’s crazy.”</p><p>“Troy,” Abed says, but Troy doesn’t hear him.</p><p>“And if it’s true than that means he’s been lying to himself for all these years and who knows what else he’s been lying about and now he’s in his mid-twenties and he doesn’t know who he is so he has to totally start over and his parents are already disappointed in him and he doesn’t know what to say to his friends and maybe he doesn’t know how to actually be in love, maybe there’s a window you have to figure it out and he’s <em> missed </em>it—”</p><p>“Troy,” Abed interrupts, louder. Troy stops talking. There’s a soft, wet, hiccuping sound that means he’s crying, and Abed’s heart lurches. “Are you gay?”</p><p>“I… I think so?”</p><p>“Do you want a hug?”</p><p>“Yes.”</p><p>He scrambles over the side of the bunk, not bothering with a ladder. Troy sits up and Abed squeezes him tightly—Troy likes to be hugged. He likes to be warm, and he thinks that hugs are proof people like him. Abed holds him as tight as he can to show how much he likes him, and doesn’t say anything about how the shoulder of his pajamas is getting wet where it’s pressed against Troy’s face. He takes a deep breath and releases it slowly, making his chest rise and fall dramatically until Troy is breathing in synch with him.</p><p>“You’re humming,” Troy mumbles into the flannel after a minute. Abed nods, because speaking would throw off the melody. “Why are you humming?”</p><p>“It sounded like you were freaking out, and people find music relaxing. It’s like being hugged, or rewatching a sitcom from their childhood that isn’t as funny as they remember it being. Do you feel relaxed?”</p><p>Troy squeezes him tighter.</p><p>“Keep humming.”</p><p>Abed keeps humming until Troy’s grip loosens a little, and then they just sit there in silence for another minute.</p><p>“You care about people so much,” Abed says finally. “But you also care too much about what people think of you. Don’t worry about what your parents or your friends will think, don’t worry about leading anybody on, and don’t worry about falling in love, because you love people and people love you. You’re like the normal person version of Tom Hanks. You have nothing to feel bad about.”</p><p>“You really think so?”</p><p>“Yes. I wouldn’t lie, remember? We don’t do that.”</p><p>Troy takes a deep breath. He lets go of Abed completely and rubs at his face. The orange light coming in through the crack of the curtain illuminates a thin sliver of his face. He looks Abed in the eye.</p><p>“I’m gay,” he says. “I… <em> am </em> gay. Yeah.”</p><p>“Cool. Cool, cool, cool.”</p><p>“I’m sorry for barging in here and babbling like that.”</p><p>“It’s okay. I like it when you talk to me.”</p><p>“I don’t know what happens next,” Troy admits. “It seems like a lot has changed but I don’t know what to… do.”</p><p>“Well, you could do the traditional thing, which is start wearing tighter sweaters, pepper your speech with a Broadway reference here and there and deliver the occasional catty remark about people’s fashion choices. Or the more straight-laced route, pun intended, which is continue on with absolutely no change in your personality to the point that people might not even know you’re gay until you get a bland-looking but attractive boyfriend with a rotating closet of low-saturation v-neck t-shirts.”</p><p>“The first one doesn’t sound like me, but the second one seems hard, too… have you run Troy/Random Attractive Dude simulations? Do you have any ideas on how to get one?”</p><p>Abed’s throat closes up. He shakes his head. Troy sighs, rubbing both hands over his face and his hair.</p><p>“Probably better, anyway. I think if I tried to flirt with a guy right now, I’d pass out.” His eyes go wide and he drops his hands. “Oh my God—I had a giant childhood crush on LeVar Burton.”</p><p>“Yeah, that tracks.”</p><p>“And the reason I used to get a boner in the locker room in High School was because I was in a room with a bunch of naked guys, <em> not </em>because I had a weird sock fetish! And Clive Owens is just objectively attractive! Oh my God, so many things make sense now.”</p><p>Abed shrugs, because he still thinks Clive Owen is just okay and he doesn’t get Troy’s fascination, but he also doesn’t want to spoil the mood. But Troy seems perfectly capable of spoiling it by himself, because all of a sudden he flings his head back with a groan.</p><p>“Abed, how am I going to tell the rest of the group?”</p><p>“You don’t have to if you don’t want to. You can wait.”</p><p>“But I don’t <em> want </em> to wait. I’ve been lying to myself for so long and I felt so—so heavy all the time. I don’t want to go from lying to keeping secrets. Right now I feel like… like that scene from the first Willy Wonka movie when they drink the bubbly juice? I feel so much lighter and I don’t want to come down. It’s just that I know Shirley’s going to say she only wants what’s best for me but also have I heard of Jesus?, and Britta’s either going to be mad or be <em> soooo </em> supportive, and I’m worried Jeff isn’t going to want to be bros anymore and I definitely don’t want to hear whatever might come out of Pierce’s mouth, and Annie—” He thinks for a minute. “Okay, I’m not worried about Annie.”</p><p>“They’re your friends, Troy. They love you—of course they’ll accept you.”</p><p>“Yeah, <em> eventually</em>.” He lifts his head and shrugs. “I don’t know. I guess I’ll do it, but… I wish they could know without me having to deal with them finding out.”</p><p>Abed folds one leg up on the mattress and holds onto his ankle. It’s obvious to him what happens next—the narrative symmetry appeals to him.</p><p>“They can. I can tell them.”</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“I can come out for you. No bit, no body-switching—I just go to the study room early tomorrow, tell them you’re gay and get all the weirdness out of the way before you get there.”</p><p>“You would do that for me?” Troy asks quietly.</p><p>“I’d do anything for you,” Abed says simply, and the bit of Troy’s face he can see looks shocked. “The timeline goes dark without you. If this keeps you here and happy, then I’d even—watch the prequels for you,” he says, wincing. “Because we’re best friends.”</p><p>“And because we’re best friends, I would never make you,” Troy laughs. “Thanks, Abed. I don’t know what to say.”</p><p>Nothing else needs to be said. Abed holds up his hands to do their handshake, then stands and returns to his own bunk.</p><p>—</p><p>The next morning, Abed wakes up early and goes to Annie’s room first thing.</p><p>“You should make pancakes,” he announces.</p><p>“Wha—? Abed!” She sits up and takes her retainers out. “I was <em> sleeping</em>.”</p><p>“Sorry. You should make pancakes.”</p><p>“You could say <em> please</em>.”</p><p>“It’s not for me. It’s for Troy. It’s a big day for him and it’ll be easier with pancakes.”</p><p>“Is he okay?” she asks with a frown.</p><p>“He’ll be better with pancakes,” Abed says, raising his eyebrows meaningfully.</p><p>Annie gets the hint. She rolls her eyes and gets out of bed, carefully tucking Ruthie back in. She insists that Abed needs to help her with breakfast, because that’s what friends do to make it up for each other if they’re being rude. Abed does his best, but Annie tells him that he’s measuring the flour wrong (“don’t pack it!”) and mixing the ingredients wrong (“wider circle, Abed!”) and flipping the pancakes wrong (“look for the bubbles!”), so she ends up doing most of it herself. She thanks him anyway.</p><p>“Morning,” Troy yawns as he comes out and sits at the breakfast counter. Annie looks at him, then over to his bedroom door, then at the blanket fort before she greets him. “Pancakes!”</p><p>“Help yourself,” Annie says oddly.</p><p>Now she’s looking at Abed. Abed waits until Troy has taken his preferred pancakes before filling his own plate, and they all sit at the table. Abed arranges his in the traditional way: neatly stacked, pat of butter on top, drizzled in syrup. Annie likes hers with strawberries and whipped cream. Troy’s are an unholy mess of butter, maple syrup, and chocolate syrup. They eat in a peaceful silence for a few minutes before Troy’s fork stops moving with a purpose and starts nervously tearing and poking at the last half of a pancake on his plate. His eyes flicker between his plate and Annie, then lift to Abed’s. His eyebrows quirk up in a question. Abed nods.</p><p>“Engage,” he mutters. Troy puts his fork down.</p><p>“Annie?” he says, a little too loud. “I’m gay.”</p><p>Annie is in the middle of a bite. Her eyes go wide and she freezes, then she lifts a hand to cover her mouth as she swallows and says, “Oh my god, Troy—” She stops abruptly and looks down at her plate. “Wait, Abed—are these coming out pancakes? I could have made them rainbow! Oh, <em> Troy</em>!”</p><p>She stands up and comes around the table to hug Troy. Troy sniffles and hugs her back.</p><p>“I’m so proud of you,” she whispers. “And Abed!”</p><p>She breaks away from Troy and flings herself at Abed.</p><p>“Wait,” he frowns. “Why are you hugging me?”</p><p>Annie releases him. Her eyes are big and her mouth is tiny.</p><p>“For… being such a good friend to Troy,” she says, voice lilting up at the end. “Because of. Um. The pancakes.”</p><p>She hugs Troy again and kisses him on the cheek.</p><p>“Thank you so much for telling me. Are you going to tell the others?”</p><p>“Abed is.”</p><p>She draws back, brow furrowed.</p><p>“Oh, Abed <em> is</em>—” She pauses, looking between them. “Wait. I’m a little confused. Abed is going to tell them…?”</p><p>“That I’m gay?” Troy says in a ‘duh-doy’ voice.</p><p>“That <em> you’re </em> gay,” Annie repeats slowly. “Right. Isn’t that the kind of thing that maybe <em> you </em>should tell them?”</p><p>“Actually, I think Troy’s the best judge of his personal private life,” Abed says, staring her down. “And he gets to pass on information about it to whomever he wants on whatever schedule and in whatever manner he sees fit.”</p><p>“Um, yeah,” Annie backpedals. “Yeah, that’s what I was thinking, too… Hey, I think there’s enough batter left for a few silver dollar pancakes, and I just bought some new food coloring. Gay pancakes?” She points at each of them. “Gay pancakes? Gay pancakes?”</p><p>“Always!”</p><p>—</p><p>“Listen up, people!” Abed declares when he strides into the study room later that day. Everybody jumps.</p><p>“Abed, what—?” Jeff starts to ask.</p><p>“Troy is gay,” he announces, and there is a ripple of movement as everyone trades reaction shots. He continues. “He still feels insecure about it and was nervous about what your reactions might be, and as such has deputized me to come out on his behalf. He requests that you do not tell mean-spirited jokes—” He looks pointedly at Pierce. “—or discuss his orientation with regards to your personal religious beliefs—” And at Shirley. “—or engage in exaggerated gestures of support that just make things awkward for everybody.” And at Britta, whose mouth scrunches up.</p><p>Jeff looks at Britta and opens his mouth to deliver a classic Winger mood-lightening zinger.</p><p>“Furthermore,” Abed cuts him off, “he would like to request you refrain from any jokes at Britta’s expense, for example ‘looks like Britta Britta’d Troy’s heterosexuality.’ He would like it stated for the record that Britta quote-unquote turned him gay only in that he realized that any man who couldn’t appreciate her extreme hotness and talent at sex to the fullest must be completely uninterested in women.”</p><p>“That’s nice,” Britta says faintly. Shirley presses her lips together like she is in pain.</p><p>“Any questions?” Pierce raises his hand. Abed sits down. “Good. Then there’s no need to discuss this further until Troy brings it up himself. And just so everyone is aware, anyone who makes him cry for any reason is dead to me forever.”</p><p>“Please don’t stick to that,” Jeff says.</p><p>Abed spots Troy lurking by the bookshelves. He tugs on his earlobe twice, and Troy nods and strides through the door with slightly exaggerated swagger.</p><p>“’Sup guys. How’s it going?”</p><p>“Troy! Hi, Troy!”</p><p>“Hey Troy, good to see you.”</p><p>“Hey, buddy—man.”</p><p>“Hello Troyyyy.”</p><p>“Hiya, champ!”</p><p>Troy sits down. There is a very long silence. Everybody is smiling, but Abed has seen more realistic smiles in the mirror; he resists the urge to yell ‘cut! take it from the top!’</p><p>“So…” Troy says. “What’s going on with history?”</p><p>They all open their textbooks. Abed stares at the heading for Chapter 4 until his eyes go dry and the words go fuzzy. They aren’t even on Chapter 4, haven’t been for weeks—but his stomach is in knots and he can’t focus. He told Troy it was going to be okay. He knew it couldn’t be normal right away, but he had foreseen all the problems and tried to head them off, and if it isn’t okay then it’s his fault.</p><p>“I don’t get it!” Pierce says. “Why would Aybed make such a big deal of the two of you guys sleeping together if we’re not even allowed to talk about it?”</p><p>“PIERCE!”</p><p>Abed tilts his head up and blinks at the ceiling.</p><p>“Okay,” Troy sighs, closing his book. “I guess that was just wishful thinking, huh? Fine. I’m gay. Yes, I’m sure. I only figured it out yesterday. I haven’t told anybody else and I don’t know when I’m going to. I used to date girls, and I really did <em> think </em>I like girls, but now I don’t, and I’m sorry if I was leading anybody on. Also, I’m sorry I keep letting Abed tell you personal stuff about me instead of just saying it myself. I was—scared.”</p><p>“Scared of what, sweetheart?” Shirley asks.</p><p>“Scared of you guys treating me differently.”</p><p>“Oh we would never…” Troy is giving her a look, the kind of look that evidently means something to other people, because Shirley trails off and folds her hands, shifting in her chair. “Now Troy,” she says, not looking directly at him. “I know you know better than that. We’re a family. We may not always agree on all the issues, but at the end of the day, we love each other and that’s all that matters. We all want you to be happy, don’t we?”</p><p>“Yeah.”</p><p>“Of course.”</p><p>“Totally.”</p><p>“Absolutely,” Pierce declares. “I for one don’t understand why you and A—”</p><p>“No,” Troy cuts him off. “Nope. That’s not happening. I don’t have a boyfriend, okay, and I don’t know when I’m going to start dating guys and I don’t want to be set up with anybody, and that includes Abed. We’re still just friends and Abed is still straight.”</p><p>Abed has been pointing, nodding his head in agreement, and looking sternly around the table, but suddenly he freezes. He shakes his head.</p><p>“Uh—no.”</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“I mean, yes to the rest of it but no to the Abed is straight part. I’m bisexual.”</p><p>Now everybody is staring at him.</p><p>“Since <em> when</em>?” Jeff demands.</p><p>“<em>Jeff</em>,” Annie hisses, and he backpedals.</p><p>“I mean…” He waves his hands in a circle, looking between Annie and Britta for help. “How long have you known? Is this a new thing, like…?” One hand twitches in Troy’s direction.</p><p>“No, I’ve known since I was 13, when George of the Jungle was re-released at the dollar theater,” he explains, because it seems like they’re confused. “You know, the movie where Brendan Fraser is shirtless a lot.”</p><p>The girls indicate their understanding. Troy is silent.</p><p>“Abed, why didn’t you tell us?” Britta asks gently, touching his arm.</p><p>“I didn’t think it was plot-relevant. I’ve never had a male love interest, except for that one guy on Troy’s birthday and I didn’t like his moustache so I didn’t want to sleep with him. Also, I kind of have my hands full with being the token nerd in the group, so I didn’t want to lean too heavily on the token bisexual and the token Muslim on top of that. It’s the same reason I don’t insist on Eid specials and why I’m so vague about my unmovable Friday afternoon commitment.”</p><p>“Yeah, what is that, anyway?” Pierce asks. “Is there some kind of gay club? Jazz hands practice, or, uh, a skinny jeans sale?”</p><p>“Bisexual, and no, it’s when my dad and I go to communal prayer at our mosque.”</p><p>“Oh, that’s nice!” Shirley chirps. “Almost like going to church, even if you are praying to All-ah instead of Jesus.”</p><p>“We wondered what that was!” Annie says. “Troy and I were kind of hoping you were a secret agent. We were just saying the other day we should try and follow you sometime, right Troy?”</p><p>“Yeah.”</p><p>“I would have told you if you asked. Or you could have googled it. 1.9 billion Muslims on the planet, I’m sure one of them could have helped out if you asked ‘why does my Muslim friend always disappear on Fridays.’ But we were talking about Troy, not me.”</p><p>“No,” Troy says firmly. “No, we were done talking about Troy. Why don’t we study? We are a study group, right, so let’s study.” He opens his book again. “Pericles was a person, right?”</p><p>It’s not <em> as </em> awkward as those few days after their balloon trip, but it is punishingly close. They spend several minutes mumbling “Pericles” at each other. Pierce starts talking about how Ancient Greeks were gay only for Shirley to scold him about being disgusting before falling over herself in apologizing only for Annie to start loudly giving an unasked-for, uninteresting lecture on the Greek alphabet and improper transliteration into English.</p><p>“Is it just me,” Britta says, and Abed braces himself for disaster. “Or is Hercules like one of the best Disney movies ever?”</p><p>“<em>Yes</em>,” he says loudly, relieved.</p><p>This is followed by a chorus of agreement, and they end up watching clips of Hercules songs on YouTube for the remainder of their time. Everyone is a little peppier than before as they gather their things to leave. Abed stalls, rearranging his pens in his bag until the room is empty… except for him and Troy. Troy had only tapped his fingers to all of the songs. Well, he had hummed along to I Won’t Say I’m In Love, but that almost didn’t count because it was physically impossible not to hum to that song. The fact that he hadn’t actually sung the words was still an ominous sign.</p><p>“You’re mad at me.”</p><p>“I—”</p><p>“Don’t lie,” Abed warns. Troy swallows, staring across the table.</p><p>“Yeah,” he says shortly.</p><p>Abed recognizes that weird hollow sound in Troy’s voice from their fight after the bar mitzvah. It isn’t a good sound. His heart is hammering in his chest.</p><p>“Is this because the rest of the group was weird? I told them not to say anything. I’m sorry.”</p><p>“No, it’s not about the rest of the group! It’s about you and me. I’m angry because you didn’t tell me you were bi, and that’s not fair and you didn’t have to tell me but I’m embarrassed and I’m angry about being embarrassed!”</p><p>“I don’t understand.”</p><p>“Why didn’t you tell me?” Troy demands in a strained voice. “We tell each other <em> everything</em>. I trusted you enough to tell you I was gay before I <em> knew </em>that I was gay, and now it just feels like you don’t trust me back.”</p><p>“I do trust you.” Troy jerks his head <em>no,</em> like he isn't even thinking about it, and starts looking around the room, so Abed reaches out and puts a hand on his shoulder. Troy glances at him and presses his lips together. “I… didn’t think it was important. I don’t usually go out looking for people to date anyway, and I don’t have gaydar at all so I definitely don’t try to come onto guys, and guys don’t usually come onto me. I guess I assumed it would come up at some point, but it never did.”</p><p>“It never did?” Troy pushes his hand off. “What about last night? You just let me go on and on saying all that stupid shit, like an idiot, trying to explain what liking guys felt like even though you already understood—”</p><p>“I didn’t, though. I was never confused about liking men. I didn’t and then I did, and I never felt bad about keeping it a secret.”</p><p>“And you couldn’t have told me that? I was seriously freaking out and you’re my friend, and you didn’t think hearing that would help me?”</p><p>“I thought I was helping by listening.”</p><p>Troy sighs. He leans forward and rests his elbows on the table, lacing his fingers behind his neck. Abed fiddles with the strap of his bag.</p><p>“I didn’t want to make the conversation about me,” he says. “I didn’t want to upset you.”</p><p>“You didn’t,” Troy says, voice muffled as it bounces against the table. “I’m sorry. Forget it. I shouldn’t be mad at you—you didn’t do anything wrong. I just… I don’t know, I’m kind of all over the place lately. It’s not your fault. I’m really sorry.”</p><p>“It’s okay. Do you want to talk about it more?”</p><p>“Nah.” He scratches the back of his head and looks up. “I think I’m just going to go to class and think about something else for a while. I’ll see you at home, though?”</p><p>“Yeah. Still best friends?”</p><p>“Always.”</p><p>Troy smiles at him as he stands and slings his backpack over his arm. Belatedly, Abed goes to do their handshake, but Troy doesn’t notice; his hand presses, briefly, against Abed’s back as he passes, and then it’s gone.</p><p>—</p><p>Abed has two more classes in the afternoon, but he doesn’t listen to a word of them. He sits in the back and stares sightlessly at the blackboard. Twice professors call on him—both times he blinks and twitches his head a few times and they leave him alone. What he really wants is to run home real quick and go a few rounds in the Dreamatorium, but he has to make do with running simulations in his head. </p><p>Then he goes to the last stall in the bathroom that no one uses since he and Troy set off that minor explosion and watches the last half of The Breakfast Club on his laptop to calm himself down. It’s reassuring. They all yell at each other and reveal a bunch of embarrassing secrets but they still make up at the end. In the past almost-four years, this is probably the movie trope that Abed has had the most real-life experience with. It always works out fine. Not <em> as </em>fine as it does in The Breakfast Club, and rarely with a soundtrack that good. But fine.</p><p>He rewatches the last scene a couple of times, just because he can, and then his laptop battery dies. There’s nothing else to do except take out his phone and text <em> Hey, where are you? </em></p><p><em> Student lounge</em>, Troy texts back. <em> Studying 4 AC repair billing test :( </em></p><p>Abed goes to the student lounge. Troy is sitting on the couch, textbook balanced on his knee as he writes in his notebook. He glances up at Abed’s arrival and says “hey,” then goes back to his notes. He doesn’t sound mad. Abed sits beside him and takes a moment to quietly gather his thoughts.</p><p>“You do have a right to be mad at me,” he says. “I knew you thought something about me that wasn’t true, I knew you would want to know the truth, and I deliberately hid it from you. That’s almost lying.”</p><p>“Abed, you don’t have to explain,” Troy says gently. “It’s okay. You don’t <em> have </em> to tell me everything.”</p><p>“I was afraid,” he continued, staring at the knees of his jeans. His stomach feels like it’s full of the eels from The Princess Bride—giant, slimy, thrashing, shrieking. “Because I don’t know what we are if I like guys.”</p><p>“What do you mean?”</p><p>“I mean we’re the guys from Friends, Boy Meets World, Star Trek, MASH, Scrubs, Psych, Harold and Kumar, Bill and Ted, The Road to El Dorado, I Love You Man,” he rattles off like gunfire. “It’s okay for us to share bunk beds and hold hands and do everything together when our mutual self-assured heterosexuality makes it safe. Arguably, it makes our friendship more poignant because we sidestep the will-they-won’t-they tension that complicates male/female friendships and the inherently subjective question of whether a romantic couple actually has compelling chemistry. Bromance is sacred. But if one or both of the people in that friendship could theoretically be attracted to the other, we open the door to a whole new set of tropes, and not just the standard unrequited tropes. In particular, if I had come out as bisexual, then there’s the risk of… creepy queer guy who can’t take a hint. Best case scenario, the guy from Glee hitting on his stepbrother. Awkward but low stakes and it gets resolved by the end of an episode. Worst case scenario, Bruno. What if I became Bruno, Troy?”</p><p>“You take that back!” Troy says, grabbing his arm. “You are <em> never </em> going to be Bruno!”</p><p>“Okay, fine, probably not. But still, the guys in I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry didn’t change their behavior at all when they fake came out, and their friends still treated them very differently. You’re the best friend I’ve ever had, and I was too afraid of that happening.”</p><p>“Abed, you know that doesn’t mean anything, right? I mean… yeah, sure, there’s not a lot of gay and bi guys on TV, at least not in our genre. But TV isn’t reality, it’s stuff that people choose to write and other people choose to produce, and most of those people are straight. You know that.” He puts his hand on Abed’s shoulder and squeezes. “I <em> know </em>you know that.”</p><p>“Yeah. But still, that means I don’t know the rules. I don’t do well without rules.”</p><p>“Hey.” Troy rubs his thumb back and forth, and on the upstroke it catches the bare skin of Abed’s neck with a jolt of electricity. “Listen. We’re Troy-and-Abed. Okay? Friends Weekly’s Friends of the Year four years and counting. We can figure out our own rules.” He drops his hand and grins, and his voice turns teasing. “I mean, come on. You’re saying our friendship is no better than Bruno or I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry? I’m offended.”</p><p>“I guess that is pretty bad, huh?” Abed admits with a tiny grin. The eels are still in his stomach, but they’ve been clubbed into submission for the time being. He takes a deep breath. “Okay. I guess I could brush up on my queer media consumption. Queer as Folk, The L Word, Will and Grace, Noah’s Arc. Most of them are a little heavy on the drama and the complex love dodecahedrons, which gets exhausting, but they do offer a more inclusive model of friendship.”</p><p>“I’ve never seen any of them,” Troy says, scrunching his face and raising his eyebrows. “I guess… I don’t know, I guess I thought if I watched something with too many gay people in it, someone would ask why? And even if I don’t need to have an answer, I just—didn’t want people to ask. Kind of stupid.”</p><p>“I get it,” Abed nods. “I was being kind of stupid, too. After all, Kirk and Spock are just a pretty typical, if exceptional, bromance on camera, but have arguably had more lasting cultural impact as a pairing in transformative fandom spaces. I shouldn’t be limiting myself or my friendships by prioritizing a traditional heterosexual narrative over one that is more inclusive and has just as much innate value.”</p><p>“Right! So… you, me, and a Showtime marathon this weekend?”</p><p>“Cool. Cool cool cool.”</p><p>“Awesome.” Troy pulls him into a hug. “You’re the best friend I’ve ever had, you know?” Troy mumbles, his breath a soft puff of air against Abed’s ear. His heart starts to pound and he wonders if Troy can feel it in his chest. Just as he thinks this, Troy pulls back, and Abed almost apologizes. But Troy doesn’t look mad. His hands are still clutching the tops of Abed’s arms. “And I’d never want to do anything to… ruin that…”</p><p><em> It’s the magic hour</em>, Abed notes in the back of his mind—the light slanting in from the windows behind them makes a golden crown of Troy’s curls, and his eyes seem even darker than usual. And bigger. And—closer?</p><p>“Is this a kiss lean?” Abed asks quietly. Troy swallows.</p><p>“I—don’t know.”</p><p>But they are still leaning closer, and the question answers itself as their lips touch.</p><p>Abed freezes. There is a high-pitched whirring sound in his brain, like a DVD player struggling to read a disc. They’re both very still until Troy’s hands cup his face and now they’re kissing in earnest. Troy’s lips tug at his. Abed’s hand is in the air—he has no idea what he had been meaning to do with it, so he just puts it on top of Troy’s, keeping him close as he kisses him back.</p><p>It’s only been kissing for a few seconds, a minute at most, but Abed’s lungs are bursting. He gasps for air and then all of a sudden Troy’s tongue is in his mouth and his arms are wrapped around Abed’s neck. One hand runs through his hair, which feels absolutely <em> amazing, </em> and he wants to say something but that would mean pulling away, because they haven’t managed telepathy yet (not for lack of trying), and he is not going to pull away. He wants <em> more </em>contact, not less. He puts a hand on Troy’s hip, but that isn’t enough, and it makes him a little off-balance—they have shifted at some point so that Troy’s back is against the couch and Abed is just sort of looming over him. He throws a leg over Troy’s lap instead to steady himself and slips an arm around Troy’s back to press their chests together. Troy breaks the kiss with a squeak. He stares up at Abed, panting.</p><p>“Sorry,” Abed says breathlessly. “Should I not—?”</p><p>Troy cuts him off with another kiss. He is an extraordinarily good kisser—gentle and intense, slow but engaging, claiming Abed’s full attention but not demanding it. And his <em> hands </em>are everywhere, scratching at the back of his neck, stroking his back, fiddling with the hem of his t-shirt—</p><p>“Ah-<em>hem</em>.”</p><p>Abed opens his eyes. <em> Magic hour over</em>, he thinks, followed by <em> We’re in public</em>. Troy’s eyes go wide at the same moment. Abed scrambles off Troy’s lap—he had been <em> sitting in Troy’s lap</em>—and finds the entire study group standing in front of them. He keeps his eyes on them but turns his face towards Troy, silently begging him to provide an explanation.</p><p>“This isn’t what it looks like,” Troy says.</p><p>Annie tilts her head. Pierce sticks his hands in his pockets. Britta crosses her arms. Shirley gives a skeptical “hm.” Jeff raised his eyebrows.</p><p>“Yeah,” Abed says. “Troy and I were just…”</p><p>“... Making out. Why was I last? I should <em> never </em> be last!”</p><p>“Sorry.”</p><p>Troy has extremely nice lips. Abed has known this for a while now, but it’s especially true when they’re still a little shiny from being kissed. Annie clears her throat and Abed blinks up at her.</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“Is there anything else you guys would like to tell us?”</p><p>Abed looks at Troy.</p><p>“Um,” Troy says. “We don’t know.”</p><p>“You don’t know,” Jeff repeats faintly.</p><p>“No,” Abed agrees.</p><p>“Guys, come <em>on.</em> <em>We </em>know. Everyone in this room knows. Everyone at Greendale knows. What do you mean you <em>don’t know</em>?”</p><p>“Jeffrey,” Shirley says in a razor-sharp voice even though her smile doesn’t waver. “Maybe it means that our boys need a little time to figure things out by themselves without the interference of nosy friends… who would be <em> very </em> happy and supportive of them if they did have something to tell us.”</p><p>Abed’s cheeks are warm. He glances at Troy out of the corner of his eye. Troy’s eyes are closed and his eyebrows high on his forehead.</p><p>“Hey Abed,” he says. “You don’t have any classes left today, do you?”</p><p>“Nope.”</p><p>“Me neither. Let’s go home and let these weirdos be weird on their own.”</p><p>“Yeah.”</p><p>Abed picked up his bag. Troy’s notebook and textbook are on the floor, but he picks them up and shoves them in his backpack. They do their best to walk by the group with dignity intact.</p><p>“Oh, hang on, before you leave—” Britta says, rifling around in her bag. Abed might actually be having a heart attack.</p><p>“Britta,” Troy says. “If you’re about to give me what I think you’re about to give me, I swear to God we will be driving straight to your apartment to swap Walter and Daniel’s eye patches so <em> neither </em> of them can see.”</p><p>Britta gasps. She takes a step back, then regains her composure.</p><p>“I just thought you might… want… this!”</p><p>With an admirable attempt at dignity, she pulls out a compact of face powder.</p><p>“Not really my color,” Troy says. She puts it back in her purse.</p><p>“Fine. I was just trying to help.”</p><p>“Thanks.”</p><p>“Troy,” Abed says, nodding towards the exit. The faster they get out of here, the better. He nods at the group. “Associates.”</p><p>Troy trots a little to catch up as they make a beeline for the doors. So many people are staring at them, and Abed’s stomach churns. How many people saw them kissing? How many of them are going to ask him about it tomorrow? And what is he going to say? He speeds up, and Troy speeds up, but it’s still not fast enough to outrun Pierce’s oblivious shout of “Have fun!”</p><p>—</p><p>“So,” Troy says when they’re back in their apartment. “We should probably talk.”</p><p>“Yeah.” Abed nods without thinking, because he’s so used to people suggesting that they need to talk and going along with it because that’s what he’s supposed to do. Then he tilts his head. “I don’t want to.”</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“I don’t want to talk,” he says, and then he shivers a little because something in his own voice reminds him of Evil Abed—confidence and impatience and a frustration with other people’s emotional entanglements that Good Abed tries to suppress. He takes a deep breath and releases it slowly. “I will if I have to,” he says. “But what I <em> want </em> to do is that thing where a couple gets back to one of their apartments and is so focused on making out that they end up practically bouncing off the walls.”</p><p>Troy’s face slackens and his eyelids flutter a bit, and Abed is suddenly hot all over. Troy steps forward and grabs Abed’s hoodie and walks him back until he hits the door of Troy’s bedroom.</p><p>“Like that?” he asks. His voice is low.</p><p>“Exactly like that.”</p><p>Troy balls his hands into fists and kisses him, hard and fast. Abed’s mind is TV snow; he can’t focus on anything except Troy’s lips, tongue, <em> teeth</em>. He had always thought this trope was pretty lazy—cheap visual shorthand for sexual chemistry that didn’t require any actual work. But if this is how it actually <em> feels </em> to be in a scene like that, he understands. He’d put this scene in a thousand movies if it made him think back to this moment. He wants to be thinking of this moment all the time.</p><p>Troy breaks the kiss and there’s an odd sound that Abed can’t place. He buries his head in Abed’s neck, shoulders shaking with laughter, and—oh. It was him. That whiny, whimpering sound was <em> him</em>, and it’s him again as Troy latches on to his neck and sucks. (Abed understands vampires now, too.) It’s embarrassing to be making that sound, but he can’t stop, either. He’s a little miffed that Troy finds it funny.</p><p><em> What would Evil Abed do? </em> he thinks, and he shoves his thigh between Troy’s legs. It’s only then that he realizes he’s harder than he’s ever been in his life, and now Troy knows, too.</p><p>“<em>God</em>,” Troy gasps. “Abed—”</p><p>A trickle of unease goes down Abed’s spine. Maybe this is too fast, maybe he shouldn’t be looking to Evil Abed for advice. Evil Abed’s last advice was to cut Jeff’s arm off.</p><p>“Sorry,” he says breathlessly. “If this is going too far, I didn’t mean—”</p><p>“Do <em> not </em> apologize,” Troy says, and his adam’s apple bobs as he swallows. He leans forward until their foreheads touch. His hands slip down to Abed’s ass. “Does this feel like too far?”</p><p>He rolls his hips and Abed matches his rhythm on instinct. They’re not kissing, just breathing in each other’s air as they grind against each other. Abed’s mouth is open like he’s going to answer but he can’t manage anything coherent.</p><p>“Oh,” he whimpers again.</p><p>One of Troy’s hands comes up to tangle in Abed’s hair and pull him in for a kiss. The other is still on his ass, guiding him as he rocks against Troy’s thigh. The pressure is unbearable and not enough at the same time. His jeans are so tight, he doesn’t know if he could even get them off at this point… and then the thought of taking them off almost makes him black out. When Troy’s grip on his hair loosens, he closes his eyes and tries to regain some scrap of control. He leans his head back until it hits the wall with a soft thunk.</p><p>“We should—” His voice is raw and wrecked. He swallows. “We should move.”</p><p>“Right,” Troy says. He traces a trail of kisses up Abed’s throat. “Bouncing off the walls trope.”</p><p>“Yeah.”</p><p>“Then we’ll have to stop doing this for a minute,” he says, punctuating his words with a hard thrust. Abed’s mouth goes dry. “Because I don’t think we can move very well right now.”</p><p>“Never mind.”</p><p>“Are you sure? Because if you want to do your bit—”</p><p>Abed nods that he’s sure and flings his arms around Troy to keep him still. One of Troy’s hands slips down from Abed’s ass to the back of his thigh, prompting him to hitch a leg on Troy’s hip. He’s rutting desperately against him now—dignity is overrated. The only thing he does for his own dignity is press his lips together and try to keep quiet, because if he makes a noise he knows he’ll fall apart. He’s fighting a losing battle, though. His breath hitches on every inhale, punctuated with that same high whimper, and the exhale is loud and raggedy. </p><p>Then it’s all for nothing. Every muscle in his body tenses and a keening moan starts in the back of his throat. He keeps riding Troy’s thigh through his orgasm and then slumps against his chest, gulping for air.</p><p>Troy’s hands rub at his lower back for a minute, before he takes Abed’s shoulders and pushes him back so he can look at his face.</p><p>“Did you just come?” Troy asks.</p><p>“Yeah.” He almost says sorry, except that Troy has told him twice now to not apologize, and it doesn’t look like he’s looking for one now. His expression is dazed.</p><p>“I just made you come,” he says. “Holy shit,<em> I just made you come</em>.”</p><p>He lunges for a kiss and misses on the first try—he kisses Abed’s chin instead of his mouth, then sort of climbs his way up to his lips. It’s sloppier than any kiss so far and he grinds his dick against Abed’s hip in a jerky rhythm. Abed kisses him back as best he can as he tries to get his hands between their bodies. It’s not an easy task; they’re pressed together as close as they can be and Troy can’t seem to stay still. But eventually he manages to undo the button of Troy’s jeans and shove them down a few inches. He cups Troy’s cock through his underwear, and Troy moans into his mouth.</p><p>“<em>Abed</em>.” Troy buries his face in the crook of Abed’s neck. “Oh, God, Abed, yes, yes—”</p><p>He’s barely doing anything, just squeezing and standing still as Troy rubs against him, but he feels a rush of triumph when Troy shudders and comes with a harsh shout muffled against Abed’s skin.</p><p>Their breathing is loud in the quiet apartment. There’s a bead of sweat at Troy’s hairline—Abed kisses it. Troy makes a soft, happy sound, and slowly their breathing returns to normal The cum in his jeans is starting to cool.</p><p>“This is a little bit disgusting,” he mutters without thinking about it. Troy laughs and stands up straight.</p><p>“It’s totally disgusting,” he agrees. “And—hot—” He pecks Abed on the lips. “And incredible—” Peck. “And—” A longer kiss, sweet and almost chaste, no tongue. “I am <em> so </em> gay, Abed. So, <em> so </em> gay.”</p><p>“Glad to be of service, your worship,” Abed murmurs. Troy’s eyes sparkle.</p><p>“Does that make me a princess in this scenario?” he asks, raising an eyebrow.</p><p>“Got a problem with that?”</p><p>“Well, for one thing, I think it’s supposed to be queen,” Troy says, tapping Abed’s chin with one finger and then trailing down to hook the collar of his shirt. “And for another, I don’t know if I’m gay enough to be on <em> that </em>level yet.”</p><p>“Well then you should practice,” Abed says seriously.</p><p>“That’s a good suggestion.”</p><p>“Now, in the shower.”</p><p>“Mm, very logical.”</p><p>“With me.”</p><p>“Hell. Yes.”</p><p>—</p><p>Three hours later, Abed is naked and lying in Troy’s bed with his head pillowed on Troy’s chest and trying not to fall asleep as they watch Inspector Spacetime on Troy’s laptop. Abed has never, <em> ever </em>, fallen asleep while watching TV—he hasn’t, until this moment, been able to understand why someone would be physically capable of falling asleep watching TV. And even at this moment he’s suspicious, because the reason he’s close to sleep is that he’s just had sex several times and Troy’s hand is stroking through his hair again, and it seems unlikely that’s the case for everyone who claims to have fallen asleep in front of the TV.</p><p>“That feels nice,” he says during one of the pauses that’s supposed to be a commercial break. Troy scrunches and stretches his fingers.</p><p>“Hey,” he says when Reggie shakes the Inspector’s hand and officially agrees to become his constable. “Are we, um, dating? Or sleeping together? Or best friends, or… something?”</p><p>“Definitely one of those four things.”</p><p>Troy snorts and tugs at Abed’s hair so he has to tilt his head back. This is a lazier kiss than the ones from earlier, but that doesn’t make it any less good.</p><p>“I bet we could do a Spider-Man kiss from the bunk beds,” Abed says when they part.</p><p>“Awesome! So… we’re definitely going to make out again.”</p><p>“I think so.”</p><p>The episode ends. The streaming service asks if they’re still watching, but neither of them say yes.</p><p>“Are you rebounding?” Abed asks. “It’s okay if you are—I won’t mind, I just want to know. Or if this is a way to make sure you’re gay, or…”</p><p>“That was a joke, Abed,” Troy says quickly. He stops petting Abed’s hair and cups his shoulder instead. His hand is warm, and he massages a bit of tension out of Abed’s muscles. Abed grunts and cuddles closer. He wants to suggest that Troy is even better at sex and massages than air conditioning repair, but isn’t sure if that will be taken as a compliment. “I don’t <em> think </em> I’m rebounding. I guess it’s hard to know for sure. But I know I like you. I really, really like you, and I love spending time with you. It’s easy. I remember things about you, like anniversaries and stuff. And now I know that I really like kissing you and having sex with you, so. If dating is an option, then, yeah, I’d like to be dating.”</p><p>“Cool. Cool, cool, cool.”</p><p>“Really?” Troy sits up, beaming.</p><p>“Yeah.” They do their handshake, except at the end Abed closes his hand around Troy’s and yanks him in for a kiss. “I owe Britta an apology,” he says.</p><p>“What? Why?”</p><p>“For being so mean to her when you guys were dating. I was really, really jealous.”</p><p>“I never noticed.”</p><p>“I never asked about her, I didn’t try to include her in anything, and I let her run around outside on the fire escape for weeks instead of admitting that I knew you two had been having sex since basically when you started having sex. It’s a good thing I’ve had practice with my Shirley simulation, because passive-aggressiveness isn’t usually one of my prominent character traits.”</p><p>“Hang on,” Troy says slowly. “When you say you were jealous, do you mean, like, you were jealous of her getting to spend so much time with me? Or do you mean like you were jealous because you wanted to be dating me instead of her?”</p><p>“The second one.”</p><p>“Wow.” Troy sits back on his hands. “Um. Since when?”</p><p>“Since the day after you left for air conditioning repair school. I mean, I already knew I cared about you a lot, but it wasn’t until then that I realized how important you were in my life. You were gone and I really, really missed you. To a frankly unhealthy degree. I’ve seen enough second-act breakdowns to recognize my own genre.”</p><p>And then you came back and immediately started dating Britta and I hated it, he thinks but doesn’t say. He’s pretty sure Troy is thinking it too; he takes a shaky breath and reaches out to hold Abed’s hand.</p><p>“Shit,” he mumbles. “I was only in love with you for like... thirty minutes before I knew I had to kiss you, and you knew for more than a year. That must have sucked.”</p><p>“Sort of, yeah.”</p><p>The fact that he’s just said the word ‘love’ should be frightening. If Abed started listing shows where characters saying ‘love’ too soon ruined everything, they’d be here all night. But it’s not scary. It’s the truth. Abed loves Troy, and Troy loves him. He’s known that for a while. Now he just knows it in a different way.</p><p>Troy looks up with a shy smile.</p><p>“Sorry for making you wait.”</p><p>Abed opens his mouth instinctively to say ‘it’s okay,’ and then he pauses.</p><p>“Maybe we should come up with a new rule,” he says slowly.</p><p>“Yeah?”</p><p>“Yeah.” He ran his thumb over the warm skin of Troy’s hand. “We know each other really well, right? And we love each other and we trust each other. So… maybe we don’t apologize for our feelings. Or wanting things. Or not wanting things, or not knowing what we want. Maybe we apologize for what we <em> do </em>if we have to, but we just… let ourselves feel things without feeling bad about it.”</p><p>For a moment he’s sure Troy’s about to cry and he prepares himself to immediately break this rule by apologizing for suggesting it. Then a smile slowly spreads across his face.</p><p>“I like that,” he says. “No lying is Friends Rule #1. No apologizing can be Boyfriends Rule #1. Cool?”</p><p>“Cool.”</p><p>Troy kisses him, a short, playful kiss followed by a second and a third and a fourth. <em> We’re going to be that couple that people roll their eyes and fake-gag over because we never stop holding hands or sharing chairs or making googly eyes at each other, </em> Abed thinks, and the kisses finally stop because he’s smiling too wide to really kiss back.</p><p>“One more episode?” Troy suggests.</p><p>He’s definitely going to fall asleep.</p><p>“Yeah.”</p><p>Troy leans back against the pillows and Abed leans back against Troy’s chest. Troy kisses his temple as he reaches out to hit play.</p>
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